Antigone's Directing

Hm..... where do I begin. First of all, I got to see the Greek Tragedy twice. Which made it quite even more interesting. See, the first time I saw it, it seemed to be a depressing story. Which was what I had learned while studying the script a bit in fundamentals class with Rick Zimmer. So I already knew the back story, the beginning, the middle, and the end. So for me, nothing was a surprise. Also, because I saw it twice, I was able to see the changes, if any, had been made from preview night to performance night. As an actor for over 5 years, I have learned that while acting, ever practice is a time that you develop habits, which are sometimes unbreakable. One of the biggest rules to acting is to act as if you were in the audition of your life. Always act like that, always act, even if it is preview night, as if it is a real performance. Yes, sometimes we have off nights, but that should not always be used as an excuse.
I sat in two different places, one side the first time I saw it, and another side the second time. This way, I was able to access every single point that I had gathered the first time and see if it matched up or not. Eh.... it was mostly the same.
So after studying this script, wow.... I had a completely different image in my head, most definitely. But I tried to keep an open mind, which I did. But the script, really, is just weird and confusing sometimes. And those monologues are just crazy. Haha somebody across from where I was sitting fell asleep. It was kinda funny. The casting was interesting. The woman cast as the Chorus seemed so evil! It was kinda scary throughout the production. It was kinda like she was looking down on the world and watching everyone die and laughing throughout it. I was wondering a bit what it would have been like if the chorus parts had been broken up between two people. Maybe a little bit more interesting and more narrative-like? Possibly....
The guy cast as Haemon was quite good in the dramatic scenes. He seemed more as a dramatic actor. During the romantic scenes, there just seemed to be no chemistry at all. It was really awkward to watch. :[
Ismene was funny, as was the nurse. The people in front of me kept chuckling during her lines because they both were like comedic relief. However, I thought Ismene was supposed to be a dramatic part, so I felt really conflicted watching her on stage. I would have liked to see her be the comedic nurse instead. She would have been better cast as that role.
The king, Creon, was cast for his ability to get angry, most definitely. He seemed more like a protective dad than a king. He was definitely dramatic, so props on that. But he didn't really act as king until the very end, when talking to the guards. His talk with the Chorus was awkward, too because no one else looked at her, like he was having a halucination or something. It was as if she was his conscious, but a person only visible to him. So I'm not really sure why the director did that. It confused me. That happened when the Messenger came in, also. I'm not really sure why the director did that. I got confused and didn't understand the point he was trying to make there. It was awkward because the chorus was narrating throughout the whole play until the end and suddenly she just jumped into the story to become a character. It seemed as if the Messenger should have been somewhat of a narrator, too. As if they were Creon's conscious instead of narrating then suddenly jumped into the story and were people within the story. I had to catch up really fast so I lost what was happening.
As for the guards, there were more like extras you see in a movie. I wish the director would have worked with them more on how to really be guards. He defintely worked the scene with the three guards and Antigone in custody, but the rest of the scenes were a little weird. However, the scene with Antigone and the head guard was quite funny. Comic relief, definitely. Obviously had been worked through.
The girl cast as Antigone obviously did her homework. She was able to transition into levels, which is hard to do as an actor. I've been through that, and it definitely takes skill! The scene with her and Creon was obviously worked over and over. I would have liked to see more of her expressions though. Her blocking was bad, and somewhat pointless. She moved so much that when I looked down to write notes for just a couple seconds then looked back up, she would be on the other side of the stage. It was hard to follow her and understand her expressions and feelings since she was moving around so much.
Because the stage was an arena, all the actors had this problem, but mostly Antigone since she did most of the movement. I would have liked to see a thrust stage instead, that way the actors would have broken character as much, looking around at the audience. I really have no idea what the point of that was. Yes, it may have symbolized Antigone's situation, being trapped, but it really made the play bad. It made it confusing to watch and follow everything since the actors were moving so much and had their backs to the audience, at least one side at all times.
The thing that did catch my eye was the choices for costumes. They were modern yet fit the characters. It was a good choice! I liked how Antigone wore, like her character, a vibrant colored top. It fit her character quite well. Creon's costume was quite good too, but it was more like a suit, but I guess that's what kings wear now-a-days. The voices from off-stage were really strange. They were so muffled that sometimes I got confused at what was happening for a couple seconds until the characters came out on stage. The jokes were really awkward. Only a couple people would understand them, and then laugh awkwardly because no one else was laughing. Or something that was supposed to be dramatic turned out to be funny. It was conflicting. Possibly the director could have helped the actors convey which was funny and which was not through voice control, pauses, and body language.
I really never understood the point the director was trying to make with this play. It was confusing and hard to follow most times. Yes, the actors did do their best. But seeing it twice, it stayed quite static from one performance to the other. The blocking was just weird because of the arena stage. It just didn't fit the script. It made it hard for the audience to follow the emotions and actions of the actors. Well, whatever the point, it wasn't really made at all. In fact, I have absolutely no idea what the point was. Oh well, good effort! I went into the performances with an open mind, I took three and a half pages of notes, obviously :] and I tried to grade the performances and the director justly, which I believe I did do. No matter where you go, there will be problems with a play and also good things, sometimes great things. I just wish the director had had more time to work with the actors really forming their characters instead of memorizing all the monologues. Good job though.